“Here’s one example I tend to deploy on second dates, and it’s rewarded with an endearing guffaw at least 90 percent of the time: I ask the woman what religion she is. Inevitably, she will say something like, ‘Oh, I’m sort of Catholic, but I’m pretty lapsed in my participation,’ or ‘Oh, I’m kind of Jewish, but I don’t really practice anymore.’ Virtually everyone under the age of thirty will answer that question in this manner. I then respond by saying, “Yeah it seems like everybody I meet describes themselves as ‘sort of Catholic’ or ‘sort of Jewish’ or ‘sort of Methodist.’ Do you think all religions have this problem? I mean, do you think there are twenty-five-year-old Amish people who say, ‘Well, I’m sort of Amish. I currently work as a computer programmer, but I still believe pants with metal zippers are the work of Satan.'”
— Chuck Klosterman “Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs”

That quote is from Klosterman’s essay on pop culture. The book I just finished is a novel about a small town in North Dakota. The ending of this book molested my emotional sense of well being. Other than that, I quite liked it.

This and books like “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” are going to be the death of me.

Anyone else read it who I can commiserate with? Also, I cross-posted this on my personal website as well in hopes that someone, anyone, would be out there to talk about this book with. And by “talk about” I mean “whine about”